Is this a good research topic for a dissertation proposal? ?
The relationship between female adolescent incest victims and the increased rate of suicide and depression diagnosis as they transition into adulthood.
This is not the final topic but my instructor would like an idea of where I'm going. This is my first semester BTW. I'm open to constructive criticism. Any help is appreciated.
My dependent variable is rate of suicide and depression diagnosis
My independent variable is female incest victims compared to their counterpart, age, and race.
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You are going about this backwards.
The NUMBER ONE reason students - high school or college - have difficulty writing papers is that they try to write without first LEARNING about the topic. You need to conduct preliminary research BEFORE you choose a thesis statement, and BEFORE you begin writing.
Find 3-5 academically-acceptable resources that offer information and/or opinions on the subject, and do AT LEAST 3 hours of research, taking notes as you go. Then, try again to define the main idea of your essay.
This approach has two advantages. First, you will have completed part of your research before you begin writing, so you will have less research to do as you develop each main point of your essay. Second, you will know that there IS available research on your chosen topic. I cannot tell you how many frustrated students I have seen in my office (usually just before the paper was due) who chose an essay topic, and then discovered that suitable reference material on their topic did not exist.
Good luck.
i suggest that, as much as you like this topic, statistical validity will be difficult to impossible. incest victims are notoriously loath to admit what happened. it follows that your sample population will be heavily skewed toward those with more robust self-esteem. Thus, your study would tend to underestimate the prevalence of depression and suicide thoughts/efforts in the presumed population.
You will have a very difficult time selling an honest dissertation committee that you've actually done something with this that is an addition to the literature.
I strongly suggest you address this concern now -- before you've invested a year or more of your life in it.